Donors' engagement: supporting education in fragile and conflict-affected states
Laura Brannelly
Susy Ndaruhutse
Susy consults on projects and research with Education Development Trust, having previously worked for the organisation as part of her 20 years’ experience of working collaboratively with low- and middle-income governments, multilateral and bilateral donors, and NGOs on policy, strategy, finance and capacity development initiatives. She strongly believes in drawing from the best available global evidence on what works, but consistently highlights the need to take local political, economic and social contexts into account to not only ensure that education systems are responsive to local needs, but that successful interventions leave a lasting legacy for future generations of young people.
Carole Rigaud
This research set out to examine the changing nature of donors' engagement in supporting education in fragile and conflict-affected states.
This report outlines lessons learned and emerging good practice. A detailed examination was undertaken of the policies and practices of three main donors - the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - and two leading international non-governmental organisations - the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children UK. In addition, a field visit to Liberia was carried out to obtain a more detailed country perspective, and to map the research findings.
The research findings highlight the increased recognition of the importance of education in fragile and conflict-affected states within the international community. The authors point to the role of key champions such as the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies have played in successfully advocating significant policy and financial commitments to education in such situations.